Her death came at a moment of reckoning with Britain's colonial past
The departure of Elizabeth II threatens to break up the Commonwealth of Nations
The Queen was valued and respected in the countries of the Union.
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The late Queen Elizabeth II paid special attention to the Commonwealth.
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Elizabeth II disagreed with Thatcher over sanctions against South Africa.
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Queen Elizabeth II's 70-year reign has been marked by periods of great uncertainty about Britain's role on the world stage.
The Queen, who died last week, was crowned in 1953 as the sun began to set on the British Empire, and her death comes as the country reconsiders its place in the world, amid growing calls for the United Kingdom to recognize its colonial history, and as republican sentiment gains momentum among the countries of the Sea region. Caribbean.
Elizabeth learned of her father's death while in Kenya, when she was on a months-long tour of the British Commonwealth, in 1952. A decade later, Kenya seceded from British rule in an anti-colonial wave.
Movements swept through Africa and Asia, and dozens of countries declared their independence from the European imperialist powers.
Many of the newly independent members of the former British Empire remained loosely bound together in the Commonwealth of Nations, which was established in 1949 as a voluntary union of former members of the empire and of provinces with a common history and interests.
In its inception, the Commonwealth was intended, to a large extent, to promote democracy, peace, and economic development across its member states.
While it has proven to be a valuable diplomatic forum, especially for smaller nations, it has remained primarily a cultural forum, as its political and economic importance soon overshadowed other international organizations established in the aftermath of World War II, said University of Sydney historian of the British Empire, Cindy McCreary. "The Commonwealth has not really reached its potential."
soft power tool
The union of these countries has been a powerful tool of British soft power and diplomacy.
Throughout her reign, the Queen took a deep and personal interest in the Commonwealth, making more than 200 visits to member states.
"She really meant everything," said Philip Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at University College London. "This was what made her so special as a European queen, and with this dual role as sovereign of more than a dozen kingdoms around the world and head of the Commonwealth."
And in many of the newly independent countries that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, it was the more moderate leaders of the anti-colonial movements who first came to power and saw the benefit of staying on good terms with the United Kingdom.
sense of stability
There were also geopolitical advantages to membership. In the early years after the organization was founded, a part of the world found itself caught up in the power struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States.
In a speech in 1955, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru urged the newly independent nations not to align themselves with either of the two major powers.
"The Commonwealth provided a sense of stability and, of course, in the Cold War era, it was a deliberate alternative to the polarizing politics of NATO versus the Eastern Bloc," McCreary says.
During the wave of independence movements in the 1960s, the Queen made a concerted effort to reach out to the leaders of the new nations.
In 1961, four years after Ghana declared its independence from the British Empire, Elizabeth traveled there, where she danced with the country's Marxist president at a reception held in her honor in an era when it was unusual to see a white woman dancing with a black man, according to McCreary. .
dispute
Although keeping her views aside, the Queen was at odds with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who opposed sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa;
Which made Britain the only country blocking this measure among the Commonwealth countries.
According to documents declassified in 2017, Elizabeth was so angry with Thatcher's decision, fearing it would harm the Commonwealth, that she considered canceling her weekly meetings with the prime minister.
The Queen continued to develop a warm friendship with Nelson Mandela, the first president of post-apartheid South Africa.
Examination of colonial roots
In many ways, the Commonwealth facilitated the transition from a colonial relationship to a family of nations, as the organization itself now describes, but it also delayed highlighting the more brutal aspects of British colonial rule and slavery.
In it, Murphy of University College London said, "There was almost an agreement of oblivion between Britain and the first generation of Commonwealth leaders."
And in recent years, with the emergence of new generations, calls for greater accountability for the entire legacy of the British Empire have grown in both the United Kingdom and members of the Commonwealth.
“What happened - which is unfortunate - is that nothing has been clarified," says Satya.
Are these countries free or not?
Are they republics or monarchies?
Has the empire ended or not?”
Charles assumes the symbolic role as head of the Commonwealth, at a time when both the UK and its 55 other member states are increasingly re-examining the organisation's colonial roots.
During a speech in Barbados last year, when the country became a republic, Charles acknowledged the "horrific atrocities of slavery" that "forever stained British history".
While the Commonwealth of Nations, which represents nearly a third of the world's population, may struggle to achieve its goal at times, smaller island states already suffering the consequences of climate change are likely to find a strong advocate in the new king, who has a deep and long-term interest in protecting The environment.
At the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow last year, he called for a "large-scale campaign" to mobilize private sector resources in the fight against climate change.
The more moderate leaders of the anti-colonial movements saw benefit in maintaining good relations with the United Kingdom.
In recent years, with the emergence of new generations, calls for greater accountability for the entire legacy of the British Empire have grown in both the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
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